Nato To Practice Restraint Over Bosnia

Planes Are Permitted To Fire On Serbian Aircraft In No-fly Zone Only As Last Resort

April 12, 1993|By New York Times

WASHINGTON — In an effort to minimize the chances of a clash with Serbian forces, NATO planes policing the no-flight zone over Bosnia have been instructed to refrain from firing on Serbian aircraft that violate the ban, except as a last resort.

NATO is to begin enforcing the zone today. But NATO's rules of engagement stand in sharp contrast to the aggressive enforcement of the air-exclusion zones over northern and southern Iraq by the United States and its British and French allies.

Iraqi planes violating the no-flight areas in their country can be shot down by allied aircraft without warning.

The U.N. Security Council established a no-flight zone over Bosnia in October, primarily to stop the Serbs from using their combat planes and helicopters to conduct air attacks. But the Security Council did not authorize enforcement at that time.

While the Bush administration wanted to enforce the ban, Britain and France feared that Western military action might prompt the Serbs to retaliate against European peacekeeping troops in Bosnia.

After repeated violations, however, including a recent bombing attack by Serbian planes near eastern Bosnia, the Security Council voted on March 31 to authorize military action to police the zone.

Even so, Britain remains apprehensive about confronting the Serbs with force. Russia, which has a veto in the Security Council and has sought to protect the interests of the Serbs, also did not want the zone to be enforced aggressively. Nor is there much appetite on the part of the Clinton administration to use force despite its strong statements about stopping Serbian ''ethnic cleansing.''

According to senior Western officials, NATO planes enforcing the zone are to follow a three-phase process. If aircraft violate the no-flight zone, NATO planes will try to encourage them to leave by waggling their wings or contacting them on international radio frequencies. If the violations persist, NATO planes may fire warning shots. Finally, if military aircraft continue to violate the ban, the NATO planes are permitted to fire.

Civilian planes that violate the no-flight ban will not be shot down.

Unlike the case of American planes enforcing the no-flight zones in Iraq, NATO planes will not be authorized to bomb anti-aircraft positions or surface-to-air missile positions if the NATO air patrols are attacked by ground fire.

Because the Serbian offensives rely primarily on artillery, mortars and ground troops, the enforcement of the ban will have only a modest effect on the fighting.

Still, if the flight ban is effectively enforced, it would stop Serbian bombing raids and prevent all sides from using helicopters to ferry ammunition and supplies.

The no-flight zone is to be policed initially by about 60 American, Dutch and French aircraft. The American contribution consists of 12 Air Force F-15 fighter planes that will operate from Aviano Air Base in Italy, and 12 Navy FA-18s that are based on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic.